March 31, 2009

Adaptation

After a mini-meltdown yesterday, I ended up getting 3.5 hours of sleep last night. I've often had trouble sleeping but this was unique. I was incredibly tired, exhausted really, but soon 20 minutes turned into an hour, then two, then three. After lying in bed from 11pm-2am, I finally decided to get up and at least do something productive while I waited to get tired enough to sleep. So I packed for New Orleans. Check another item off the list.

I pulled it together today and tried to focus on solutions, starting with scheduling a call with my coach. His advice was just what I needed. He grounded me back in the reality that I've done the training and one bad week can't undo it all. We talked through ways I could minimize my shoulder pain while trying to get it close to 100% for Sunday. And some of the time we just talked, about my upcoming schedule, IMWI, basic training stuff. For one hour I was calm, my confidence was returning and I was able to laugh. I immediately felt better.

I also found a work solution. In this incredibly challenging week, a lot of great things are happening. I'm meeting all my clients and discovering just what an amazing team I work with. I proposed to my supervisor that I take a day off Thursday, but not really "off" since I will commit to doing all scheduled meetings, including a 7am call to China and also be sure anything due to her or the client will still get done. She agreed without hesitation. She seemed genuinely concerned I was having race week issues and her flexibility means a tremendous amount to me. These two solutions changed everything.

I was supposed to do a 30-45 relatively aerobic run with two random pickups, but didn't get home until 10pm so I just did what I could. My pace was slower than usual due to the darkness and uneven streets so the pickups didn't really happen. I was truly exhausted and bogged down by the big client dinner including wine. I could have skipped the run. It was late and I had the no sleep card to play. But I just as easily could commit to it and make it happen even if the conditions weren't ideal. These training sessions are so much more than activity, they have become a test of who I am, what I'm made from. And the "who" I discovered I am over the last two months is someone who doesn't quit.

So I adapted, bounced back and hopefully made a small impact on my training. I hope take some of this calmness with me through the race and finish.

Running
Distance - 3.37 miles
Time - 30:30

4 comments:

  1. I've got the pre-race jitters also - it has gotten all up in my dreams also.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you keep this up, you will have to change the name of your blog. ;-)
    Have a great time in New Orleans.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Still trying to figure out your distance (30:30) and time (3:37) Is that 30 miles in 3hrs and 37 minutes???? :-)

    Can you say "lack of sleep"?

    You're going to rock in N'awleans. Enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good catch Walt! That's what I get for attempting to blog at 11:30pm on 3.5 hours sleep :)

    ReplyDelete

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